ABES Manifesto
GECEX Resolution No. 852/2026: Contradiction with Bill 278/2026 (REDATA) Compromises the Competitiveness of the Brazilian Digital Economy
São Paulo, February 2026
ABES, the Brazilian Association of Software Companies, one of the legitimate representatives of the information technology sector in Brazil, expresses deep concern regarding GECEX Resolution No. 852, of February 4, 2026, which establishes significant increases in import tax rates on equipment essential to Brazilian technological infrastructure.
Resolution GECEX No. 852/2026 establishes particularly burdensome import tariffs. Data processing servers, which are the heart of data centers and cloud infrastructure, will now be subject to tariffs of 18% for medium-capacity equipment and up to 25% for high-capacity servers. Essential network equipment, such as switches and routers that ensure the necessary connectivity for digital services, remote work, and cloud computing, were taxed at 25%. Data storage systems, fundamental for maintaining customer information, medical records, tax records, and contracts, face tariffs ranging from 12.6% to 14%. Semiconductors and integrated circuits, critical components for infrastructure maintenance and expansion, were taxed at 7.2%.
This measure affects not only the technology sector, but the entire national economy, since information technology today constitutes the transversal infrastructure that sustains and enables all other economic sectors, provides citizens with access to a multitude of public services, and has become an indispensable tool in universities, research centers, and educational establishments. In this sense, the statement in item 20 of “Technical Note 501_MF_2026_SEI“ deserves highlighting: ”_Technological innovation and new technological paradigms are fundamental for technological catch-up; (...). Technological advancement is simultaneously the main driving force and the catalyst for the generation and support of investments in new physical and human capital, essential dimensions for a sustainable growth trajectory, associated with profound structural transformations of a country.”
Technology has long ceased to be an isolated sector of the economy. It is the foundation upon which the financial system and fintechs, retail and e-commerce, digital health and telemedicine, Industry 4.0 and advanced manufacturing, distance education, precision agriculture, digital public services, and smart energy infrastructure operate.
However, when the cost of technological infrastructure increases as a consequence of higher taxes, the operating costs of the entire Brazilian economy also increase, widening the gap with the desired technological development. The rising cost of servers, network equipment, and storage systems has a cascading effect on all sectors that depend on this infrastructure for their daily operations.
The issue becomes even more serious when one observes the direct contradiction with another recent public policy of the same Federal Government. In February 2026, the government leader in the Chamber of Deputies, Deputy José Guimarães, presented Bill No. 278/2026, which establishes the Special Tax Regime for Data Center Services, REDATA. This bill, resulting from Provisional Measure No. 1,318/2025, was created precisely to attract investments in data centers in Brazil, rightly recognizing that this infrastructure is strategic for the country's digital sovereignty and economic competitiveness. REDATA offers tax incentives through the suspension of taxes (II, IPI, PIS/Pasep and Cofins) on the import and acquisition of ICT equipment intended for the fixed assets of data centers.
The contradiction is evident and mathematically demonstrable. While Bill 278/2026 (REDATA) offers tax suspensions that become zero after certain obligations are met, Resolution GECEX 852/2026 establishes the very high tax rates that REDATA seeks to eliminate. The practical result is that the incentive policy is already compromised by the existence of tax rates ranging from 18% to 25% which, even when temporarily suspended, represent an opportunity cost and regulatory risk for investors, since their investments will also be affected by these costs after the tax suspension period. An investment of US$20 million in equipment for each medium-sized data center that is to be installed in Brazil, without REDATA, would suffer an additional cost of US$3.6 to US$4.4 million in import taxes alone after the five-year suspension period.
Therefore, increasing the cost of data center infrastructure means increasing the cost of the entire chain of technological services that depend on it, ultimately impacting all sectors of the economy and the end consumer.
The contradiction expressed in “Technical Note 501 MF 2026” is clear, as item 54 refers to Provisional Measure No. 1,318/2025, which establishes REDATA, proclaiming that it “aims to attract investments in digital infrastructure, requiring counterparties in sustainability and Research and Development,” but in the item it only promises that “...an exception will be made for a group of strategic BIT products aimed at data centers.”
Brazil faces fierce international competition for investments in digital infrastructure. Chile, Mexico, and Colombia maintain import tariffs for IT equipment between zero and 6%, in addition to offering various specific tax incentives for data centers. With Resolution 852/2026, Brazil establishes tariffs of 12.6% to 25% for the same equipment, becoming significantly less competitive even with the REDATA incentives. Major global cloud computing players choose where to invest considering the total cost of infrastructure, and Brazil has just become less attractive precisely at the moment when it is trying to attract these investments through Bill 278/2026.
The impact transcends purely economic issues and reaches dimensions of national sovereignty. As highlighted in the justification for Bill 278/2026, Brazil currently has approximately 60% of its digital data processed abroad, generating a deficit of approximately US$$ 40 billion in the electrical and electronic products sector and US$$ 7.1 billion in telecommunications and computing services. Without competitive digital infrastructure in Brazil, data from Brazilian citizens and companies will be increasingly stored abroad, essential digital services will depend on foreign infrastructure, the capacity for national innovation will be compromised, and the country will be vulnerable to external political and economic decisions. Digital sovereignty is as strategic as energy or food sovereignty, and contradictory public policies compromise this achievement.
RECOMMENDATIONS –
Given this scenario, ABES recommends:
The approval of REDATA, establishing a zero or reduced tax rate (maximum 5%) for equipment essential to data centers, especially processing servers, network equipment, storage systems, and critical semiconductors.
The structural review of the Common External Tariff for digital equipment, formally recognizing them as strategic assets equivalent to the energy, defense, and health sectors. Brazil's digital and economic future depends on this choice, and ABES is fully available to the Federal Government and the National Congress to contribute to building a solution that effectively promotes national technological development.
ABES – Brazilian Association of Software Companies
